Combined container and testing base for electrical instruments



" May 1.3, 1930.. A, E, FlNLEY 1,758,568

COMBINED CONTAINER AND TESTING BASE FOR ELECTRCAL INSTRUMENTS Fied April,A 192e 'fill/II v /27 Mwlaunuml SNOW,

lll-5mm;

M- grt/akute@ ENEFNLEY l45 Afurtherobject is to provide a carton of ofthe carton when the bottom is in closed 90 atented May 13, 15930 n i 'iALBEN n. FINLEY, or GRo'roN, CONNECTICUT COMINED CONTAINER .AND TESTINGBASE FORELECTRIGAI: INSTRUMENTS I Application `filed April 2, 1926.Serial No. 99,350.

This invention relates to a combined conthe above mentioned characterwhich may be tainerand testing vbase for electricalinstrusealed at thefactory and whereby the tubes ments. may be tested without breaking theseals of An important object of the invention is to the cartons.

y provide an improved container for electrical Other objects andadvantages of the in- 50 instruments such as electron discharge tubesvention will become apparent during the employed in radio receivingsets. course of the following description.

A further object is to provide a novel con- In the drawings I have shownone emboditainer for electrical instruments having cushment of theinvention. ln this showing:

ionsupporting means therein for supporting Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of the carton 55 the instruments whereby they may be safely withthe bottom thereof opened, Shipped, Y Y Figure 2 is a similar viewshowing the car- A further Objectis to provide a carton or ton intesting position, v n container for radio tubes provided with Figure 3is a vertical sectional view through means for supporting the tube abovethe botthelower end of the carton and testing base, 60

tom of thecarton, said means being provided parts being shown inelevation, y with openings through which the prongs of Figure 4 is asection on line 4-4 of Figthey tube are adapted to project whereby theure 1, f v' c tube may be tested for its electrical charac- Flgure 5 isa detail perspective view of the teristics and values. l sub-base, and,l 65 A further obj ect is to provide a container or Y Figure 6 is adetail sectional view through carton of the above mentioned character inone form of testing base Contact. combination with the testing basewhereby Referring to the drawings, the numeral 10 the kelectricalcharacteristics and values of the designates a carton preferably formedof radio tubes or other instrument may be deter-l pasteboard or thelikerhaving sides 11 and a 7o A mined without removing theinstrumentfrom top v12 of the usual type.,- The carton is subtheearton,stantially square in cross'section, as shown A further object is toprovide a carton havin Figure 4C, and is provided at a point spaced inga sub-bottom adapted to support the radio from its lower end with asub-bottom or suptube and provided with openings through port V13 havingintegral flaps 14 which may be 75` which the prongs thereof are adaptedto proglued or otherwise secured against the inner ject, the cartonbeing further provided with faces of the sides of the carton to properlyse abottom having openings therein correspondcure the sub-base inposition. The sub-boting in arrangement to the openings in the subtom orsupport is provided with a pair of bottom to provide access to thecontacts or openings 15 arranged to one sideof the center 80 prongs ofthe tube toper-mit it to be tested. thereof and a pairof slightlyl,larger open- A further object is to provide avcarton of ings arrangedtoward the opposite side for a the character just mentioned and -atesting purpose to be described. Two sides of the base therefor, thebase being providedwith carton areprovided with integral vflaps 17,

contacts corresponding in position to the con i and the bottom of thecarton is adapted to be 85 tactsor prongs of the tube and ada-pted to beclosed by a bottom 18 formed integral with inserted through theopeningsin the bottom one ofthe sides of the carton. The bottom 18 of the cartonto contactwith the prongs of the is provided with a flap 19 adapted tofrictube. v f tionally engage against one of the side walls fioposition, as' will be apparent. VThe bottom 18 is provided to one sideof the center thereof with a pair of openings 2O corresponding in sizeand position to the openings 15, and is further provided with a secondpair of openings 21 corresponding in size and position to the openings16.

The carton is adapted to contain an electrical instrument such as anelectron discharge tube 22 having a base 23. Such tubes are now madewith standard bases 23 having a pair of relatively small prongs 211 anda pair of relativelylarge prongs 25 projecting from the bottom thereof.Tubes are now standardized to permit the use of a single typeand size ofbase in connection with any type of tube. `The openings in thesub-bottom are made to correspond to the prongs of the tube `whereby thelatter snugly fit the'openings As shown in Figure 3, the prongs of thetube terminate a substantial distance above the bottom of the carton. Inpackingthe tubes in the boxes, they are inserted from the upper endthereof, and the top is then closed.

.` The bottom 2Q is similarly closedand the top and bottom may beprovided with the usual paper seals which are provided for theprotection both of the user and manufacturer.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, the numeral 26 designates a testing basehaving side walls or flanges 27 to snugly receive the lower end of thecarton. The sidewalls or flanges are provided with binding posts 28 forconnection withsuitable electron'tube testing de- A .a vices. ,The base26 isprovided with ai plurality of sleeves 29 having plungers 30 eX-tending upwardly therefrom, the plungers normally being urged upwardlyby springs 31. The sleeves 29 are, of course, connected to the properbinding posts V28,as will be apparent. The openings `and 21 yare ofvdifferent sizes, and thetwo larger openings correspond in position tothe larger prongs of the tubes. Itfwill be apparent, therefore, that thecarton may be placed in position on the 'base 26 and within the flanges27 thereof in only one position whereby a proper electrical contact willbe made withthe elements ofthe tube, as willbe apparent.

lt iscustomary to pack tubes in cartons by wrapping themin4 a protectingmedium such as felt paper, corrugatedfboard and the like.

Accordingly I prefer to provide a wrapping Y medium 32 which maybeformed of any desired materialand preferablycovers the sides and. top ofthe tube to prevent Vinjury thereto. The sub-bottomrl, being formed ofpasteboard or the like, will possess a certain ient support for thetube. n

" The; operation ofthe device is as follows:

degree ofresiliency, thusproviding a resil- Tubes 4are testedfor theirelectrical char-v acteristics and values at the factory, andare thenplaced in the 4,carton in thefmanner de-` scribed, lthe prongs 2li andV25 projecting through the openings 15 and 16 respectively. Theprotective wrapping obviously will protect the tube against jars fromthe top and sides of the carton while the sub-bottom 13 formsa resilientsupport for the tube. Inasmuch as the lower ends of the prongs 24 and 25are arranged a substantial distance above the bottom of the carton, theywill be protected from accidental contact with any sources of electricalcurrent. Purchasers of radio tubes usually desire that the tubes betested in their presence before they are accepted. When itis desired totest a tube, the lower end of the carton containing the same may beinserted in the testing base, and since the larger openings 21correspond in position to the ,larger prongs of the tube, it willbeobvious that the carton necessarily can be placed in the base in onlythe proper position. The characteristics and values of the tubes thenmaybe observed by connecting the binding posts 28 to suitable testinginstruments. It will be obvious that the testing base-may be formed as apermanent part of the testing instruments if desired. As previouslystated. paper seals are employed for sealingV the top and bottom of thecarton and every purchaser of a tube may buy the tube with the assurancethat it is a'new'tube. The device also forms a `protection to themanufacturers of the tubes inasmuch as the seals must be broken topermit the tube to be removed from the boX and placed in operation.VObviously, theredinary pasteboard cartons. It will be apparent that whenthe carton is placed in the position shown in Figure 3, the lower endsof the tube prongs are adapted to make perfect/electrical contact withthe plungers 30, the latter being projected upwardly into iirm contactwith the tube prongs by they springs 31. Obvi-ously, however, the deviceis not limited to the use of any particular type of testing` basecontacts. g f

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same andV thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention'or thescope of the subjoinedclaim.

I claim:

A. container for aradio tube having a plurality of spaced contacts ofdifferent sizes projecting from its base, lcomprising a hollow bodyhaving parallel sides and a topand a bottom, anda relatively thinresilient sub-bottom secured within said body above and parsize andarrangement to the contactsof the tubes, said body being adapted toreceive the tubes in the space between the top thereof and thesub-bottom with the contacts of the tubes projecting through theapertures in said subbottom, the bottom of said body having a pluralityof spaced apertures corresponding to and alined with the openings insaid subbottom, and being spaced below the ends of the contacts of thetubes, whereby said contacts are protected against accidental corn-Imunication with outside'electrical means.

In testimony whereof I aIiX my signature. ALDEN E. FINLEY.

